Quiet Waters

Psalm 23:2
…he leads me beside quiet waters

I went to the beach for our family vacation. I loved it. The sharp edged shells and rocks kinda hurt my feet, but everything else was basically Really Awesome.

We decided to go snorkeling along the rocks because that’s where the fish hang out. The only problem with that is when I’m snorkeling, I’m looking down into the water at the pretty fish and not at the rocks piled above the water line.

The waves generally push a snorkeler around, so I had to pull my head up and keep a safe distance away from the dangerous, sharp, barnacle-infested boulder pile. I couldn’t let my feet hang down too far because of the rocks below the water line.

But the fish!

There were tiny purple and gold fish that might be either Basslets or Dottybacks. I’m no fish expert, but I think I saw some Angel fish, Tangs, Rockfish, and possibly some Croakers. The blue and yellow fish were the most curious group when we brought out our bread. A school of silvery long fish zoomed past us a number of times, but didn’t ever stop since they were in quite a hurry. Must’ve had an appointment.

Then we saw a Porcupine Puffer fish.

I was with my brother and sister-in-law. I got their attention and joyfully announced my discovery. My sister-in-law took off for the sand and stayed there for a while. I really didn’t mean to scare her. I was just surprised to see one so close to me. It looked at me with curious eyes. If I’d been brave, I might’ve reached out to it to see how close it wanted to come to me. But I backed off and gave it a little more room. I didn’t want to scare it. It probably takes a lot out of a fish to puff up like that.

Snorkeling is best in the morning. In the afternoon, the waves get much rougher, and it’s hard to maintain your position (away from the rocks and allowing the puffer fish its personal space).

When I read the second verse of Psalm 23, I think about the rough waves that push people toward the rocks, stir up the sand, and cause snorkelers to go home because they can’t see very well.

Quiet waters means peace to me. The opposite, rough waters, means fighting against the powerful wave shove that causes people to topple like bowling pins when they are in its way.

The Lord is my shepherd. He leads me beside peaceful waters. It’s to my advantage to follow him.